Press Releases

2016

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- [Diocesan Chancery] - Registration is now open for the Third Annual Diocesan Young Women's Encounter which will take place from Sunday, June 26th to Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Windber, PA.

This engaging experience, which is open to young women in our Diocese ages 12-18, will highlight how young women can live our Orthodox Faith and serve the Church with their own unique gifts. This year we are really looking forward to having Katrina Bitar with us. She is the YES North America Program Director (Youth Equipped to Serve) for FOCUS North America (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve.) Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA [Diocesan Chancery] -- His Grace Bishop Gregory has announced today that the newly expanded and renovated cabins at Camp Nazareth will be dedicated during the Annual Diocesan Priest Convocation on Wednesday May 11, 2016.

The day will begin with the Divine Liturgy in the Sts. Cyril and Methodios Chapel at 8:00 am for the Feast Day of Sts. Cyril and Methodios. The Dedication Service will begin at 10:00 am. Joining His Grace, Bishop Gregory will be His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh, along with priests and laity of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh. Following the service and the blessing of all ten cabins, there will be a celebratory brunch in the Main Lodge.

Diocesan Clergy and their families, and the faithful of the Diocese are cordially invited to attend the Dedication Service and the brunch.
Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- With the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Gregory, the National Junior ACRY, as in previous years, calls upon all to help aid in the mission of our diocesan apostolate of Saint John the Compassionate, in the inner city of Toronto, Ontario. The National Junior ACRY hears the call from the hymns of the Great Fast/Lent and invites everyone to help fulfill this plea of the voice of the Church.

Members of the Junior ACRY had the opportunity to visit the Mission this past summer and witness Christ’s love, which labors through the Mission to minister to the needs of so many. Last year’s donation from the National ACRY along with a matching grant from the John C. Kulis Charitable Foundation was hand delivered by National President Josef Samilenko to Fr. Roberto on behalf of all who donated to the Lenten Project. The Project raised over $12,000.00 for the Mission last year. Read more...

WOODSTOCK, GA -- [National ACRY] Registration information is now online for the 2016 Metropolitan Orestes Memorial Bowling Tournament, sponsored by the National ACRY which will take place over Memorial Day Holiday weekend (May 27-30, 2016) in the Metropolitan Atlanta Georgia Area in Woodstock, Georgia.

Diocesan faithful and friends are cordially invited by His Grace Bishop Gregory along with Fr. Matthew Dutko and parishioners of St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church of Woodstock, GA to come spend an enjoyable weekend of bowling, Christian Fellowship and worship All are welcome and need not be ACRY members to take part. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- With the setting of the sun and the celebration of Forgiveness Vespers this evening, the season of The Great Fast has been ushered in throughout our God-Saved Diocese and the Orthodox Church throughout the world.
This Holy Season, as His Grace, Bishop Gregory has reminded us in his Lenten Archpastoral Letter "is a time for self-examination and self-denial. We must take control of our lives and bodies with fasting in order to gain a greater awareness of our dependence on and relationship with God."
To assist the faithful in making the most of this holy season, additional resources have been added to our Diocesan Website. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA -- It does not seem possible that five years has passed since the Repose in the Lord of our God Loving +Metropolitan Nicholas of Thrice-Blessed Memory. There is not a one of us, who does not recall where we were or what we were doing when we learned that His Eminence Fell-Asleep-In-The Lord at 3:00 pm on Sunday March 13, 2011. Read more...

As we begin Holy and Great Lent this year on March 14th, I want to share with you a few thoughts so that we may journey through this reflective period and arrive at the Great Feast of Feasts, Pascha to receive the Resurrected Christ.

We are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we at the same time reconcile with one another. In this holiest period of the ecclesiastical year, we should honestly examine our relationships with our families, our parish families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and the Church in general. Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA [National ACRY] The National Sr. ACRY is pleased to announce that the 2015 Advent Mission Project has raised over $20,000 in support of the Fr. Michael Rosco Memorial, Habitat for Humanity building project. These funds include a generous $5000 grant from the Kulis Foundation. With the proceeds of the Advent Mission Project, the grand total raised for this worthy cause as of today, is over $32,000.00! Also seven members of our Diocesan family have agreed to serve on a construction team, thus far.

This memorial building project is being spearheaded by the faithful of Fr. Michael’s former parish, St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church of Perth Amboy, NJ, in conjunction with International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). Plans call for a home to be built in the Summer of 2016 for a deserving family in Mandeville, LA Read more...

JOHNSTOWN, PA - His Grace Bishop Gregory and the Diocesan Chancery Staff offer their sincere condolences to Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Fetchina on the repose of his father +Basil Fetchina on Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
Born in Saint Clair, PA to the late Simeon and Anastasia Chaplick Fetchina, he resided in Jackson for the past 15 years. Prior to his retirement, he was a salesman for Bell & Howell in Washington, DC.
He served in the Navy Reserves before being transferred to the Army, where he served during the Korean War. He was a member of St. Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Howell. Read more...